


Naked and Afraid

by whazzername



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, Modern AU, RMT Lee, Touch-Starved Gaara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-25 16:49:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20727521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whazzername/pseuds/whazzername
Summary: Gaara is not looking forward to enduring his birthday gift from Temari, until he meets his massage therapist and discovers that having a stranger grope you for an hour is not as bad as it sounds.





	Naked and Afraid

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the GaaLee Discord for convincing me to keep the working title. This idea popped into my head at physiotherapy and would not go away!
> 
> A soundtrack for your reading pleasure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZbuj3RJcjI

Gaara tentatively stepped into the second-floor space, warm air washing over him thick with the scent of ylang ylang. Set above a health food store, Springtime of Youth Wellness Center was housed in one of the older buildings on Konoha’s main street, with exposed oak beams and a wide, wood-planked floor. Gaara noticed a small gym in the room next to reception, with various hand weights and resistance bands neatly organized next to a recumbent bike and treadmill.

The floorboards squeaked as Gaara made his way to the reception desk where a number of brochures sat boasting services like acupuncture and physiotherapy beside a _Pilea peperomioides_, its round green leaves fanned in a sphere. A girl with pink hair sitting behind the desk looked up as he approached, closing the _Muscle and Fitness_ magazine she’d been flipping through.

“Hi, how can I help you?” She asked cheerfully.

“I’m, uh, here for a massage appointment,” Gaara said hesitantly, hands clenched around the straps of his backpack.

“Wonderful, you must be Gaara! You’ll be with Lee today. If you can just have a seat and fill out this form, he’ll be right with you,” She said, handing him a clipboard and a pen. “Would you like some cucumber water while you wait?”

“Uh, no thanks.”

Gaara slumped into a chair and dropped his backpack at his feet with a heavy thud, thankful he was the only one in the waiting area. He was already regretting his decision to come, he really should be studying right now, but the gift certificate Temari had given him for his birthday was about to expire and she swore she’d kill him if he wasted it. Both of his siblings were fully aware of his aversion to physical contact (although that didn’t stop them from inflicting the occasional hug on him), and the thought of a hour of someone putting their hands on his naked body sounded more akin to torture, but Temari said that he was beginning to get a hunch from all his late-night study sessions.

Gaara reluctantly began going through his intake form, filling in his personal information, emergency contact (Temari obviously, Kankurou never answered his phone), and starting on his medical information. It felt more like he was at a doctor’s office than some new-age healing center with all the information they wanted. He ticked off anxiety and insomnia from the list of conditions, filled in his medications, and moved on to the written questions.

**Are you currently pregnant?**

_I sure hope not._

**Do you suffer from chronic pain? If yes, please explain.**

_Existential._

**What makes it better?**

_The knowledge that life is meaningless._

**What makes it worse?**

_The knowledge that life is meaningless._

Gaara couldn’t help but grin to himself as he moved on. If he had to go through this, at least he could have a little fun.

**Have you had a professional massage before?**

_No._

**What type of massage are you seeking (relaxation, therapeutic, other)?**

_None._

**Are there any areas (feet, face, abdomen, etc.) that you do not want massaged?**

_Skin._

**What are your goals for this treatment session?**

_To get out of here as quickly as possible._

Under _areas of discomfort_, Gaara was just finishing circling the entirety of the human figure drawing when he heard a set of loud footsteps coming down the hall and a young man in a white polo shirt and loose white pants appeared in the doorway behind reception.

“Hello! You must be Gaara!”

The quiet tranquility of the reception room was shattered by the force of the young man’s voice as he strode across the small room.

“I am Lee and I will be your massage therapist today! It is nice to meet you!”

Lee thrust out a hand and Gaara took it hesitantly, a little taken aback from the intensity of the other man’s smiling face.

The girl behind reception looked up again. “Lee, indoor voice!”

“Oops, sorry Sakura-chan!” Lee said, only moderately quieter, as he took the clipboard from Gaara and sat down next to him. “Let’s see what we have here.”

Gaara watched as the young man’s face furrowed in concentration. Lee was an interesting looking guy. He had thick black hair styled into a sleek bowl cut, and heavily lashed, round eyes underneath the thickest eyebrows Gaara had ever seen (at least compared to his own nearly non-existent ones). Normally those things shouldn’t have worked, but for some reason Gaara couldn’t look away. He also couldn’t help but notice the way that Lee’s shirt was stretched taut over his torso, the short sleeves hugging the bulge of his biceps. Gaara shrank back into his hoodie, a little embarrassed now that Lee was reading his joke responses in front of him, but suddenly Lee’s face split into a smile.

“Ha! Quite the comedian I see! I take it you did not buy this session for yourself?”

“It was a gift.”

“Well do not worry, I will be gentle! You will be a convert in no time!” Lee said, clapping a strong hand on Gaara’s shoulder that made him highly doubt the man was capable of doing anything lightly. “Now come with me and we can get started!” Lee grabbed Gaara’s backpack as he stood up. “Wow, what do you have in this thing? Sand?”

“It’s just textbooks.”

“You should be careful, it is not good to carry so much without the proper support!”

Gaara followed Lee down the hallway to a small room where a massage table was already prepared with a thin sheet draped over it. The room was dimly lit with soft tinkling music and nature sounds emanating from a speaker in the corner and flickering faux candles dotting most surfaces.

_Oh god._

“Ok! I will leave you for a moment to get undressed,” Lee said, placing Gaara’s backpack against the wall. “If you could then lie face down on the table under the sheet we can get started!”

“I need to take everything off?” Gaara asked, hugging his arms across his front.

“You are welcome to keep your underwear on if you would feel more comfortable!” Lee said as he closed the door behind him, leaving Gaara alone in the room.

Gaara let out a grumbling sigh and began to pull his hoodie over his head. He was really going to get Temari for this. Why couldn’t she have just given him a half-eaten bag of chips for his birthday like Kankurou? Maybe he liked his hunch, what did she know? Some guys might be into the Gollum look.

Placing his folded pants and shirt on top of his backpack, cactus print boxers most definitely staying on, Gaara clambered onto the table and lay down on his stomach underneath the sheet, resting his face into the hole of the headrest.

He was grateful for the sheet but still felt awfully exposed, like he was lying naked in a rainforest what with all the bird calls and the sound of trickling water. He really hoped it wouldn’t make him have to pee.

After a moment of studying the wood grain of the floor through the narrow view of the headrest, there was a light knock and a voice from behind the door.

“Ready?”

“Yeah.”

He most definitely wasn’t.

His view of the floor brightened for a moment as Lee entered the room, then faded back to candlelight.

“Now I know this is your first massage, so just try to relax, and if you are uncomfortable at any time just let me know.”

Lee’s voice was softer that it had been before as he moved about the room, although it was still unnerving that Gaara just had to lie there, unable to see the other man and having to track him with his ears.

“I’m going to begin now,” Lee said softly from the base of the table.

“Okay.” Gaara hoped Lee couldn’t hear the cringe in his voice.

There was a beat and then Gaara felt two hands on the bottom of his feet, gently holding them against the table, heavy and warm over top of the sheet. Another beat and the hands released him, and the sheet over Gaara’s right leg was folded back, exposing his pale skin from the top of his thigh down to his ankle. He jumped when he felt two palms suddenly on the skin of his calf.

“Sorry, did I startle you?”

“S’fine.”

Lee began to slide his hands up towards Gaara’s knee and then back towards his ankle, curving around the sides of Gaara’s calf. His hands were surprisingly warm, and he’d applied some sort of oil, so each sweep of his palms left a heated track along Gaara’s leg (he was instantly glad he hadn’t inherited Kankurou’s hairy legs).

With each pass, Gaara’s skin began to warm, and for a moment Gaara thought he could deal. Then hands began to move higher, chasing warm swaths over Gaara’s bare thigh, and he tensed at the unfamiliar contact.

“Is this okay?” Lee asked, pausing his motions.

“It’s just…weird.”

“Let me know if it is too much.”

Gaara tried to relax, but his leg remained tense. The calf was one thing, it was a decidedly boring part of the body, but there was just something about someone running their hands over his thigh that was just so…intimate. He didn’t think his own hands had ever spent so much time that high up on his legs and he felt his face flush.

He was relieved when Lee moved back down to his calf, smooth sweeps replaced with the firm kneading of his fingers.

“How is the pressure?”

“Fine.”

From their initial meeting, and the sight of Lee’s biceps, Gaara had been worried that Lee’s methods would be too intense, but he seemed to know exactly how much pressure to use to get each muscle to loosen. It didn’t make the situation any less uncomfortable though.

“I remember being nervous for my first massage,” Lee said, as he continued to work his way up Gaara’s leg.

“Yeah?” Gaara asked, trying not to focus too much on how high Lee’s hands were getting again.

“I was in a car crash when I was thirteen and my left arm and leg were crushed pretty badly so I needed a lot of surgery. My physiotherapist started me in with an RMT once the bones healed and while it was uncomfortable at first, it helped a lot.”

“Is that what got you into massage?” Gaara asked. He wasn’t normally one for small talk, but it was a good distraction.

“Yes! My surgeon was actually not sure if I would walk again but here I am! And now I get to help others recover as well!

Gaara couldn’t help but grin at Lee’s enthusiasm.

“Now,” Lee continued, switching back to the long, smooth strokes up and down Gaara’s leg. “I hope you do not have ticklish feet.”

“What?”

Lee’s hand smoothed down the bottom of Gaara’s foot a couple times before his thumbs began to run firmly down the arch.

It actually felt pretty good.

Lee continued to knead at the bottom of Gaara’s narrow foot, applying pressure to his heel, the ball of his foot, and just below his toes before pulling each one gently between his thumb and forefinger.

Scratch that, it felt amazing.

Lee quietly re-covered Gaara’s now-relaxed leg and moved to the other side of the table, uncovering the other and starting the process over again. Gaara was a bit more prepared for the sensations this time, but Lee continued to talk to him when he started to tense, naming the muscles as he worked on them and their functions. By the time his lower half was fully covered again, Gaara was feeling a lot more comfortable, and was beginning to get used to Lee’s touch.

Lee moved to the side of the table and uncovered Gaara’s back, folding the sheet down to his waist. The room was warm, but Gaara suppressed a shiver at the sudden exposure.

A pair of green and orange sneakers entered Gaara’s field of vision as Lee came to stand at the head of the table.

“Those are quite the shoes,” Gaara commented.

“Oh, thank you! I’m on my feet most of the day so it is important to wear shoes with proper arch support! Massage is a full body workout if you are doing it properly!”

Gaara was about to say that he’d been talking about the colour, but Lee’s hands, once again slick with oil, were at his shoulders and smoothing down his back, all the way down to the waistband of his boxers. Lee leaned over Gaara as he went, palms sliding down either side of Gaara’s spine, then back up and down along the sides of his ribs in one smooth motion. Gaara found himself letting out a deep breath as each row of Lee’s body pressed him into the table.

Lee’s hands final stilled at Gaara’s lower back, thumbs settling into the dimples above his tailbone and beginning to knead in small circles. His body hovered closely over Gaara, the fabric of his shirt brushing the hair at the back of Gaara’s head.

“How’s the pressure?” Lee asked again.

“Nn-good,” Gaara managed to get out, as Lee’s thumbs dug long grooves up and along the muscle over the back of his ribs. Each firm drag wavered just on the edge of painful, until the muscle finally relented, and a warm flush of pleasure began to spread throughout Gaara’s back.

“So who’s idea was the massage?”

“My sister,” Gaara grunted. “She thinks I’m too tense.”

Lee chuckled, a sound that Gaara felt more than heard reverberated from the body above. “Well she’s not wrong.”

“Midterms are coming up. Everyone is tense.”

“What are you studying?”

“Botany.”

“Oh that’s cool! I love plants but I don’t have much of a green thumb. Sakura won’t even let me touch the plants in the reception area.”

_That doesn’t matter, you have magic fingers._

“Your trapezius is really tight,” Lee commented, moving up towards Gaara’s shoulders. “Do you sit in front of a computer a lot?”

“Mm-hnn.”

Gaara was getting less capable of making coherent answers as Lee worked at the tight muscles where his neck met his shoulders. He could feel his shoulders dropping away from their usual position up near his ears, his study hunch slowly melting into the table.

Lee continued upwards, dragging strong fingers against the cords on either side of Gaara’s neck and Gaara’s eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head. If anyone had told him that he would actually enjoy someone digging their fingers into his skin he would have thought they were crazy, but god damn that was good.

Gaara’s back and shoulders were full of a fuzzy warmth by the time Lee finished with another set of long slow drags of his palms over the whole area and brought the sheet back up to Gaara’s neck.

“Now if you could turn over onto your back.”

Gaara didn’t particularly want to move at the moment, but he shook himself out of his daze and eased himself onto his back, Lee holding the sheet up just enough so that he was still fully covered.

Gaara blinked blearily and saw Lee smiling down at him.

“How do you feel so far?”

“There’s more?” Gaara croaked.

Lee laughed. “We are only half-way through my friend!”

Lee uncovered Gaara’s right arm and lifted it at the wrist, the other beginning the long, smooth strokes he always began with.

“Don’t worry about holding your arm up,” Lee said as he worked. “I’ve got you.”

Now that his view wasn’t constrained, Gaara couldn’t help but watch Lee as he worked. He used his whole body, strong legs bending to accentuate each knead of his hands, his dark eyes focused. It was like a choreographed dance as Lee moved around to get the best angle to work, alternating supporting and manipulating Gaara’s arm in one hand while the other firmly squeezed and pressed.

Lee worked his way from Gaara’s bicep, to his tricep, and down until he got to Gaara’s wrist, bending it back and forth to knead away all the strain that typing pages of notes and essays had left there.

He set Gaara’s arm back on the table and took Gaara’s hand in both of his, trapping it as he slid from wrist to fingertips. He gently worked the bones and tendons on the back of the hand before turning it over and focusing on the fleshy pads of his palm. Gaara’s fingers curled inward automatically, only stretching out again when Lee took each one in his grasp and gently pulled down its length.

Finally, Lee laced Gaara’s fingers in his own and applied soft pressure, easing Gaara’s wrist back and forth. Gaara’s hand felt small in Lee’s, and it made something in his chest flutter to feel the press of Lee’s warm palm against his. When Lee finally let go, he couldn’t help feeling that his hand felt empty.

After working Gaara’s other arm to the consistency of a cooked noodle, and another fleeting press of their hands, Lee once again came to stand at the head of the table. Gaara’s eyes fluttered open and met Lee’s, a soft smile lighting up the face above. Gaara hoped the room was dark enough that Lee didn’t notice his face flush, closing his eyes quickly again.

Gaara jumped again as Lee’s hands came to his shoulders, and he prayed Lee couldn’t feel his racing pulse. Lee smoothed his hands one after the other up the back of Gaara’s neck, gently lifting Gaara’s head with each stroke. His fingers raked through Gaara’s hair, gently scratching in small circles and a sudden exhale left Gaara’s mouth as it opened slightly. Lee increased his pressure, fingers dragging slowly but firmly against Gaara’s scalp from hairline to temples, and underneath towards the nape of his neck.

Gaara’s head lolled in Lee’s hands, neck completely limp. It was strange to feel so secure with your head in someone else’s hands, but right now Gaara didn’t have a care in the world. He was so relaxed that he almost didn’t notice the small moan of pleasure that escaped his lips.

His eyes shot open in horror.

“Sorry,” he blurted.

Lee smiled down at him.

“I will take that as a compliment!”

Relieved, Gaara shut his eyes again as Lee finished massaging his scalp and lay Gaara’s head back on the table.

He sensed Lee sit down behind him, and ever so gently, Lee began rubbing small circles along Gaara’s jawline, working all the way up to his temples. The pads of Lee’s thumbs came to Gaara’s forehead and smoothed down the sides, brushing lightly over his heart shaped birthmark. Lee continued the gentle downward strokes as his thumbs traced across Gaara’s brow, between his eyes, down either side of his nose, and along his cheekbones. Gaara lay there with his eyes closed, soaking in Lee’s touch. It was the strangest sensation, but Gaara felt his features slacken as Lee traced them.

All too soon, Lee’s hands left Gaara’s face, brushing the hair back from his forehead one final time.

“Alright Gaara, I'm going to step out of the room now. When you feel ready, take your time getting up and I’ll meet you outside. I hope you enjoyed yourself.”

Gaara didn’t open his eyes until he heard the door close, lying there for a moment talking everything from the last hour in. His body almost didn’t feel like his own anymore, and it took him a minute of wiggling his fingers and toes to reconnect with it. He had never felt so relaxed and yet so invigorated in his entire life.

He barely remembered thanking Lee and heading home, the ghosts of Lee’s hands burned into his skin.

He booked another appointment immediately.

***

Over the next month, amid much teasing from his siblings, Gaara booked a standing massage appointment every week, always Lee’s last time slot of the day, when the clinic was mostly empty. Gaara’s excuse was that he had been studying hard for midterms, but now those had come and gone, and yet here he was again under the sheet, naked but no longer afraid, his whole body loose and content after another session with Lee.

He had a problem.

It was inappropriate, booking sessions with someone he was attracted to, and he knew he should stop, but it just felt so good to give in. Lee’s hands just seemed to know his body, and even though Gaara told himself each time was his last, he still craved more.

Gaara dressed slowly and met Lee in the hallway.

“Thank you, that was great,” Gaara said, mind still foggy. “Same time next week?”

He was so weak.

Lee’s thick eyebrows furrowed into an uncharacteristic frown.

“Actually, no.”

“Is your schedule changing? Because I can make another time work.”

Lee wouldn’t look him in the eye.

“I-I do not think I can work on you anymore.”

Gaara’s heart plummeted.

“Oh…was it something I did?”

He knew.

Of course he did, how could he not? Gaara’s pulse beat like a snare drum every session, of course Lee would feel it.

“No, you did nothing wrong, it’s me,” Lee said, his eyes still firmly not meeting Gaara’s. “There are very firm rules about practitioner-client fraternization, and it would be inappropriate for me to continue treating you when I am…attracted to you.”

“Oh.” Gaara felt his face flush. The two of them stood silently in the hallway, neither meeting each other’s gaze.

“What if…What if I switched to another practitioner?” Gaara asked hesitantly. “Could I still see you?”

“You would want that?” Lee asked, looking up in surprise.

Gaara nodded.

A smile stretched across Lee’s face, and Gaara swore he could see tears gathering at the corner of his eyes.

“I suppose you could book in with Neji,” Lee said, wiping at his face. “We trained together and he has an open slot around the same time.”

“Ok.”

“In that case, could I take you out to dinner sometime?”

Gaara nodded. “How about now?”

Lee’s smile only seemed to grow larger.

“Let me just make the change in the schedule and I’ll grab my things!”

Gaara followed Lee down the hallway back to reception, a smile flickering over his lips as the turn of events.

“I should warn you,” Lee commented. “Neji only plays Enya, so you might want to bring earplugs.”

Thankfully, Gaara only had to endure one session with Neji before Lee began giving him private sessions.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks also to ScarletCloack for the headcanon that Neji unironically loves Enya.


End file.
